Thursday, December 8, 2016

From The Star Online (Dec 9): Shootout drama at sea with Filipino gunmen off Sabah

Some of the suspects fished out of sea after the shootout in waters off Semporna.

It was a night of high drama at Sabah’s east coast Darvel Bay when, for the first time, Malaysian security forces came into direct confrontation with Filipino gunmen involved in cross-border kidnappings.

Three suspected kidnappers were shot dead and three others captured in a 20-minute gunfight between the police's Tiger Platoon and eight gunmen in waters off Pulau Bodgaya in Semporna at 9.40pm Thursday.A policeman was shot in the foot during the shootout and was airlifted back to Semporna hospital at 1.50am Friday.

The whereabouts of two other suspects could not be immediately ascertained as security personnel continue to comb the area.

Sources said the group of heavily armed gunmen, strapped with bullets, was first spotted in a blue-twin engine 80HP speedboat heading towards the fishing trawler Yakin 2.The General Operations Force Tiger Platoon, led by a corporal, immediately gave chase as the gunmen attempted to board the trawler.
A gunfight broke out in pitch darkness and it was only after the violence stopped did they find the three bodies of the suspects.

Police said three suspected gunmen were arrested after they surrendered. A kidnap victim believed to be a fisherman was rescued.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun is expected to give more details later Friday.
It is widely believed that cross-border kidnap groups have been responsible for at least six of the nine robberies and kidnappings in the east coast this year.
They are believed to be based in the Tawi Tawi chain of islands close to Sabah waters.

It was a night of high drama at Sabah’s east coast Darvel Bay when, for the first time, Malaysian security forces came into direct confrontation with Filipino gunmen involved in cross-border kidnappings.

Three suspected kidnappers were shot dead and three others captured in a 20-minute gunfight between the police’s Tiger Platoon and eight gunmen in waters off Pulau Bodgaya in Semporna at 9.40 pm Thursday.

Sandakan: Unidentified gunmen have released three Indonesian crewmen of a fishing trawler on Tuesday after being held overnight by unidentified gunmen.

The three men were held close to the southern Philippines Island of Baguan on Monday before being released.All three fishermen were reportedly released unhurt, and it is believed that the owner of the Sandakan-based trawler or agents of the trawler's owner crossed the border to negotiate the immediate release of the three crewmen and the boat.Filipino sources in Taganak said the three Indonesian crewmen were held by "unidentified" gunmen as they were poaching within Philippine waters. The sources claimed that the gunmen used a twin-engine wooden boat to intercept the trawler for poaching within a rich fishing ground near Baguan, which is close to Sandakan. When contacted, Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) Commander Datuk Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said that there have been rumours about the incident.He, however, added that there was no official report of the incident.

Indonesia will hold a trilateral military exercise in Kalimantan early next year, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has said.

"The combined exercise will involve small units from Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia at the company level," he said after meeting his Philippine counterpart, National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, in Manila on Thursday.

"We will focus on basic skills, such as anti-guerilla warfare, urban warfare and patrol duties."

Ryamizard said the joint exercise would be held in Kalimantan in early 2017, before the launch of a joint operation.

"We will exchange knowledge and experiences on how to conduct anti-guerilla operations," said Ryamizard.

"Based on our own experiences, it is important to win the people's hearts and minds."

In the field, he added, the military had to separate the population from hostile forces to win guerilla warfare.

Ryamizard said the combined exercise was important to prevent further abductions by Abu Sayyaf militants and to forestall any attempts by the Islamic State group to establish a strong base in the region.

The BRP Andres Bonifacio is the Philippine Navy’s new ship from the United States. FRANCES MANGOSING/INQUIRER.netThe newly-acquired ship from the United States, the BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-17), is being eyed to be deployed in the seas of Sulu to help in dealing with security threats, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

“I expect to see this ship painted in grey to ply the Sulu seas to help in the prevention of the kidnappings and piracy in the seas. This ship will certainly be a valuable platform in the pursuit of the constitutional mandate of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines),” he said in his speech at the welcome ceremonies for the new ship at the Manila South Harbor on Friday.

The BRP Tarlac, the Navy’s largest vessel, has been deployed in Sulu Sea to serve as a naval blockade against the Abu Sayyaf.

BACKSTORY: Latest PH Navy frigate sails for home
It is one of the two ships that US President Barack Obama pledged when he visited the Philippines in November last year. The other ship was research vessel Merville, now BRP Gregorio Velasquez (AGR702).

Lorenzana said the new ship will boost the Navy’s capabilities in dealing with maritime security concerns, emphasizing the need to upgrade it in the next few years.

“We are a maritime country, our maritime territory is 20 times bigger than our land mass so it’s just right that we go into a program to upgrade our Navy. And that will be my mission as SND for the next six years,” he said.

The BRP Andres Bonifacio is the third Hamilton-class cutter to be acquired by the Philippine Navy. The first two were BRP Gregorio del Pilar (FF-15) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz (FF-16).

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Dec 9): Military verifying if Filipinos killed in Malaysian anti-kidnap operation

The military on Friday said it was still verifying a report that three Filipinos suspected of involvement in kidnappings in Sabah and nearby areas were killed by Malaysian authorities on Thursday.

Maj. Felimon Tan Jr., the spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command based here, said they still had no confirmation of the incident that reportedly transpired on Darvel Bay in Pulau Bodgaya in Sempornah in Tawau district.

Earlier, Malaysian media reports said three other Filipinos were also arrested during the operation conducted by Malaysian authorities on a kidnap-for-ransom gang.

While the identities or affiliation of the suspects had not been made available as of yet, it was a known fact that only the Abu Sayyaf ventures into Malaysian territories in search of victims to abduct.

Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia are considering to establish a high security corridor along the Sulu Sea and Sabah to tackle the piracy menace that has resulted in several attacks and kidnappings this year, shipping industry sources and maritime analysts said.

There has been a spate of attacks which have imperiled movement of commercial vessels prompting trilateral negotiations between these countries to find ways of securing the region under what is being termed as an IND-MAL-PHI program.

The plan assumes significance because billions of dollars worth of commodities move to and fro on commercial ships in the vicinity of the Sulu Sea, according to industry estimates.

Matters came to a head in June this year when Indonesia raised safety concerns over coal shipments to the Philippines, when seven of its sailors were kidnapped.

Earlier, one of Indonesia's ministers raised fears that it did not want the region to become a "new Somalia."

"The idea behind the initiative is to set up a jointly managed and monitoring security system which can serve as a deterrent for the would be pirates," said Martin A Sebastian, head of the Centre for Maritime Security and Diplomacy at the think tank, Maritime Institute of Malaysia, on the sidelines of a conference organized by Singapore's Institute of South Asian Studies, or ISAS.

A similar initiative started in 2009 in the Gulf of Aden, called the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor, or IRTC, successfully curbed piracy attacks in the region over a span of several years.

The corridor included creation of separate eastbound and westbound transit lanes, each five nautical miles wide and separated by a two nautical miles buffer zone.

Upon entering the detailed reporting area, or leaving a port within the region, commercial ships were encouraged to voluntarily report their position, course, speed and actual times of arrival to the designated authorities.

A joint working group on the trilateral cooperative arrangement in Southeast Asia is currently discussing modalities for a possible setting up of a similar corridor in the Sulu Sea, Sebastian said.

The objective of the negotiations is to have a Graduated Response Program, or GRP, with distance-based multiple layers of security around the commercial vessels, he said.

Last month, the anti-piracy watchdog, Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, or ReCAAP, expressed deep concern over the abduction of crew from ships while passing through the Sulu-Celebes Sea and the eastern Sabah region.

Since March, there have been 11 sea-robbery and piracy related incidents in this region resulting in the abduction of 44 crew members of which 11 are still captive, ReCAAP said. For most of the incidents, the responsibility has been claimed by the Philippines-based terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, it said.

"The perpetrators have begun to target ships of larger tonnage," ReCAAP said, citing the example of Vietnam-registered bulk carrier, the Royal 16, from which six crew members were abducted on November 11 near Coco Island when it was enroute from Hai Phong to Davao.

PRIVATE ARMED GUARDS

Such incidents have sharpened the debate for having private armed guards on board commercial ships to prevent offshore crime. Other sources participating in the ISAS conference said on its sidelines that one of the reasons for the success of anti-piracy measures around the Gulf of Aden was contribution of private armed guards on-board the ships moving in the region.

Sebastian said Malaysia was now permitting PMSCs to operate in its Exclusive Economic Zone provided the guards are only Malaysian nationals.

"Even if private agencies aren't allowed to initiate maritime security, the piracy problem can still be tackled, provided stringent sea-patrols are undertaken by the Coast Guard and naval ships," said Mohammed Khurshed Alam, head of the Maritime Affairs Unit in Bangladesh's foreign ministry.

There also has to be greater synchronization between maritime agencies and the land administration. Most countries do not have thorough anti-piracy laws and "criminals on sea" go scot free "on land" due to a dearth of witnesses and a lack of evidence, Alam said.

If the Gulf of Aden experience is taken into account, private armed guards use arms only as a last resort and their basic objective is risk mitigation, or deterrence and alerting the official security agencies of any threats.

The crisis response or hot pursuit and warfare, if any, with the pirates is supposed to be done only by the security agencies of the governments involved, maritime analysts said.

These guards also serve as a source of employment for the retired servicemen from national security agencies and revenue for the government, they said.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND PIRACY

Experts also point towards the social angle to the piracy problem.

"Improving the livelihood of people onshore by providing them with the alternative sources of income such as agriculture and fisheries will not leave them with a reason to resort to piracy," said Hosena Lunogelo, a senior adviser at Tanzania's Economic and Social Research Foundation.

Massive trawlers belonging to multinational companies catch fish and seafood along the African coastline, leaving precious little for the locals, he said, adding that Europe and the US also need to give greater market access to African agricultural produce as part of efforts to control crime on sea.

This will go a long way to bolster maritime security at a time when new offshore oil and gas discoveries have been made near Tanzania and Mozambique, which can also serve as a source of employment for locals, Lunogelo said.

INSURANCE PREMIUMS

Maritime insurance premiums are directly proportional to the risk threat in the region and inversely to the security arrangements made by commercial ships to tackle them.

In April, BIMCO had reduced the size of The High Risk Area for Somalia-based piracy, cutting its boundaries in both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Baltic and International Maritime Council, or BIMCO, is the world's largest international shipping association, with more than 2,200 members and its standard contracts and clauses, which cover the entire lifecycle of ship-related operation and activity, are widely used in the industry.

While negotiating contracts with insurance companies, commercial ship carriers list out the risk mitigation measures, including the use of BIMCO Guardcon, the standard contract for deployment of security guards on vessels.

"Such risk control measures entail a cost but at the same time also bring down insurance premiums," said Sebastian.

The overall costs are only slightly higher than the gains made by shipping companies due to lower insurance premiums and more importantly the chances of a piracy attack come down drastically, he said.

Navies and Coast Guard do not have enough assets to be "everywhere, every time, while PMSCs can provide security during loading and discharge of ships and parameter protection within port limits or for oil rigs and platforms," he added.

The economic stakes of tackling piracy in the Sulu Sea region are huge.

There are an estimated 55 million mt of goods that transit these waters annually, according to shipping industry estimates.

CAMP GEN EMILIO AGUINALDO, Quezon City (DWDD) – The AFP welcomes the designation of Lt Gen Eduardo Manahan Año as the 48th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

According to Marine Colonel Edgard Arevalo, Chief of AFP Public Affairs Office, Gen Año is a seasoned Commander, a well-revered leader, and an acclaimed manager.
His wealth of knowledge and experience in combat, intelligence, and civil military operations will certainly make a significant mark in the AFP’s pursuit and accomplishment of its mission.

Arevalo said that the position Gen Año has held and the awards that were bestowed upon him speaks well of his fitness to serve in the highest position and the AFP’s echelon of command.

“Every soldier, sailor, marines, and airmen commit to Gen Año their support for an unfaltering and unwavering cooperation in all his endeavors. “In the same breath, we join him in wishing his immediate predecessor, General Ricardo Visaya all the best in the next chapter of his life after hanging his military uniform” Arevalo added. PAO AFP /MCAG

MANILA (DWDD) – The Philippine Navy, in partnership with the National Defense College of the Philippines, holds the PN Strategic Planning Seminar 2016.

Thirty one Navy officers, enlisted personnel, and civilian employees who are potential members of the Navy’s core team of strategic planners are participating in the seminar which will run from 07 to 09 December 2016.

This initiative is part of the Navy’s capacity-building efforts as it gears up for an in-depth assessment of the current Sail Plan and prepares to look beyond its vision year 2020. NPAO / MCAG

From DWDD AFP Civil Relations Service Radio Website (Dec 8): NEXT IN LINE | Next Commanding General, Philippine Army

CAMP GEN EMILIO AGUINALDO, Quezon City (DWDD) – Newly-designated Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippine Lt Gen Eduardo Año refusd to reveal any names as his possible replacement as Commanding General of the Philippine Army.

According to Gen Año, what he could only say is that there are three Army Lieutenant Generals are in contention

Año added that the decision is still up for approval by the President and AFP Commander in Chief Rodrigo Duterte.

General Año is a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1983, the same as his predecessor, Gen. Ricardo Visaya.

Meanwhile, the new AFP chief has denied setting any deadline on various focused military operations against terror / bandit groups like the Abu Sayyaf, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), and the Maute Group.

He assured the public that the AFP will do its best in its peace and security efforts, despite not setting any deadline, since full efforts are in progress.

“We will continue the focused military operations in those areas. Resources will be pushed forwads to support our troops. Adjustment will be made based on the assessment of the ground commanders,” Año added. AES / MCAG

PIER 13, South Harbor, Manila (DWDD) – An Arrival Ceremony was rendered to formally welcome the Philippine Navy’s third (3) Weather High Endurance Cutter, BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF17) at Pier 13, South Harbor, Manila with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenza at Guest of Honor and Speaker.
The BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-17) arrived in the Republic of the Philippines, December 8, 2016.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell was officially transferred to the Philippine Navy and renamed BRP Andres Bonifacio, July 21, 2016, during a ceremony at Coast Guard Base Alameda, California.

The crew of the ship conducted 14 weeks of training on the ship’s operation, engineering and propulsion systems, damage control and emergency response procedures.
The BRP Andres Bonifacio is the third High Endurance Cutter transferred to the Philippine Navy from the U.S. Government through the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program.
The highlight of the event was the tribute given in recognition of the laudable efforts of the sailors who were instrumental in the ship’s safe and successful voyage to the Philippines.
Just like BRP Gregorio Del pilar (FF-15) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz (FF16), the other Del Pilar Class Frigates, the FF 17, a former United States Coast Guard High Endurance Cutter, is expected to bolster the Philippine Navy’s Fleet, providing increased maritime presence throughout the Philippines’ territorial waters and its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). AES / ALS / Photos by Amihan Sabillo